3 Awesome Things You can do with Chatbots

Chatbots? What is this, Star Wars?

How come I keep seeing marketing articles about chatbots?
Chatbots are actually not new; they had their first rise to fame in the days of AIM. They were basic programs that chatted with you about specific subjects.
A chatbot is a computer program that is designed to create a unique user experience, either through a series of prewritten responses or through AI.
This technology is making a comeback because of the wide popularity of Facebook messenger and Slack. In fact, recently Facebook Messenger passed the 1.2 billion users mark, making it larger than almost all the social media networks out there.
So, what are the advantages of using a chatbot? What kind of things can you do with it? Why would you even use one?

We’re going to answer all of these questions right now. Ready?

#1. Use a Chatbot as a Shopping Assistant

Chatbots can easily help customers choose and purchase products through smart product suggestions. The most famous example of this is when Nordstrom launched a chatbot for the holiday season in 2016.

The chatbot was super successful in handling the increased number of shoppers. It provided customized product recommendations, answered questions, and allowed for immediate purchases. It was a widely successful campaign, and it not only boosted revenue but improved Nordstrom’s brand.

Advantages:

Provides the convenience for the customer to purchase a product on the go

Gives product suggestions that increase the conversion rate

Provides a unique customer service experience

#2 Use a Chatbot to Buy Food

Yummy…
Food is probably the most important thing you can buy online. That’s a fact by the way.
Do you remember the days when we had to call a restaurant and order food? Nevermind, we still do that, but not for long!
Many restaurants use chatbots to provide customers with the option of browsing their menu and ordering food right from their phone.

One company that is leading the space is called Chatobook, and it’s a small startup that provides the technology for restaurants to build their own chatbots.

Another way that restaurants can take advantage of chatbots is by partnering with an existing food chatbot and add themselves to their list. I particularly like the name of this one; it’s called BellyHungry.
What makes it really smart is that it could provide recommendations based on location, type of restaurant, and type of food dish.
If that doesn’t make you hungry, I don’t know what does…

Advantages:

Discover new restaurants from the palm of your hand

Search the area for the dish that you are craving

Order on the go and don’t wait for delivery

#3 Use a Chatbot to Get Data on Your Business and Boost Sales

This is perhaps the most relevant application of chatbot technology for small businesses. If you feel like you are drowning in data and don’t know what to focus on, then
this is the right marketing strategy for you.
There is a brilliant chatbot called StatsBot that integrates with SalesForce, Google Analytics, SQL, to get you the most important data about your business.
If you want to increase your sales, simply ask the bot to show you the outliers this week, what categories are selling the most, the least, what sources bring the most customers, etc. Then go, and you can focus on what matters and drop the things that aren’t making you money.
It’s a brilliantly efficient technology that relies on AI to spot the data that will take you weeks, if not months to catch.

Advantages:

See the most important data about your business in seconds

Improve your sales by focusing on the best channels

Get the best reports to show your coworkers and investors

Where to find the best chatbots

I know you are probably wondering to yourself how do I find more chatbots? What if I need some other ones for my business? Let me point you in the right direction.
Here is the most comprehensive list of chatbots on the web. It lists all the different platforms and all the different companies that help you build your own bots.

Recap

Chatbots are amazing creatures that can help you and your business in many different ways.
Use a shopping bot as a personal shopping assistant to get custom product recommendations and shop on the go.
Use a food bot to find new restaurants, locate the best place to buy your favorite dish, and order food on the road.
Use a chatbot to get the most important data about your business and significantly boost your sales.
Of course, besides the great advantages of using chatbots, the technology comes with a great risk to humanity the risk of taking over our world. But you can let Elon Musk worry about that one.

The following list covers just about everything you could possibly post on social media. From personal, to business-related, to promotional posts, this list of ideas will keep you inspired for a long time.